Best Restaurant Experience

Photo: Eric England

The Catbird Seat, which opened in 2011 to national acclaim, is a dining concept unlike anything previously seen in Nashville: Thirty or so diners gather around a single U-shaped bar, while in the center, a high-powered chef and his team cook up a wildly creative multi-course meal, chatting and interacting with the customers while feeding them exquisite — and often mind-bending — fare. Sure, other restaurants have included a chef’s bar, but at The Catbird Seat, the chef’s bar IS the restaurant. The meal is fixed-price, and ingredients and courses vary according to the season and the chef’s latest brainy ideas. Everything hinges on the talent behind the bar, and even as chefs have occasionally moved on (current chef Ryan Poli is the fourth), standards have remained consistently, amazingly high. DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

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